This invention relates to a penile prosthesis and method for selectively establishing an erectile condition in a penis and permitting the penis to return to a flaccid condition.
Prosthetic devices for supporting the penis in an erectile condition have long been used to compensate for erectile dysfunctions that otherwise prevent an individual from having an erection. Although many penile prostheses provide the penis with adequate erectile support, they do not allow the penis to return to a flexible, flaccid condition.
Some known prosthetic devices which support the penis in an erectile condition also permit the penis to assume the posture of a flaccid condition. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,893,456 and 4,151,840 show prosthetic penile devices which can also be bent to a selected curvature that corresponds to the posture of a flaccid penis. However, the flexural stiffness of these prosthetic devices prevent the penis from having the free flexibility that is normally associated with a flaccid penis, and can thus be discomforting.
Ideally, a prosthetic penile device should enable an individual to have an erectile condition when desired and should also permit restoration of the penis to a flexible, flaccid condition when desired.
Other known penile prostheses, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,522,198, 4,517,967 and 4,541,420 attempt to deal with the problem of restoring a prosthetically supported penis to a flaccid condition. The disclosed prosthetic devices have a relatively flexible mode and a relatively erectile mode. However these prosthetic devices rely on a high tension element having a complex actuation system to maintain the penis in an erectile condition. Relaxation of the tensioning element places the prosthetic device in the relatively flexible mode. However, If the tensioning element elongates as a result of tensioning stresses imposed thereon, it must be readjusted or it will lose the ability to support the penis in an erectile condition.
It is thus desirable to provide a penile prosthesis, of relatively simple construction, which is easily controlled to support the penis in an erectile condition, without the need for a high tension support element, and is easily adjusted to permit restoration of the penis to a substantially flaccid condition.